Chocolate Cake
by burningbaconwrites
Summary: Adrien offers to help Marinette while she's taking care of the bakery on her own.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Okay Mari, did you get all of that?" _Of course she had gotten it_ Marinette thought to herself. And her dad knew it as well, but it would still comfort him nonetheless to hear his teenage daughter repeat his instructions for the third time. The baker had had his daughter repeat his instructions first in her bedroom, secondly in the living room, and lastly in the bakery as the two adults were heading out.

Marinette made sure to sigh dramatically before answering to emphasize that this was the last time she was repeating anything other than goodbyes.

"Okay, so you and mom are going to England for a week to visit this bakers convention thing and I'll be in charge of the bakery until you get back." Marinette looked at her father to see if that hurried explanation was good enough for him, but it clearly wasn't. She sighed again and added, "You called some of our regular customers to let them know so it would be easier on me. And-" She hurried before her dad could interrupt, "I'll call you and mom or close the shop if things get too rough." Her father quickly dropped his expectant gaze and sighed with relief. Marinette assumed this meant she was finally done with all of the repeating.

A few seconds later, Marinette's father looked back up at his daughter with a defeated smile on his face.

"Okay Mari I get it," He chuckled. "You'll be fine. You're perfectly capable of handling the shop on your own." Marinette gave him a soft smile to let him know everything was okay and stepped forward to give her dad the biggest hug she could muster (though it was nothing compared to the hug she received from him).

After a few moments, Marinette turned to her mother to do the same, all the while trying very hard to stay strong to prove she could handle this. However, it would be a lie to say the high schooler wasn't grateful for the hug, seeing as it allowed her to hide her face. Her father joined in the hug and Marinette felt the corners of her mouth slide upwards as a smile formed and she couldn't help but hold her parents even closer.

It had felt like she and her parents had stood there in that hug for an eternity, but a minute later, Marinette found herself watching her parents walk out the door shouting several teary goodbyes on their way to the airport. Marinette felt the tears forming in her eyes again as she watched them leave. Her parents would only be gone for a week, but she missed them already. With a start, Marinette felt a small squeeze on her thumb and looked down to see a small, red kwami with thumb in hand and a reassuring smile on her face. Marinette felt better already knowing she wouldn't be alone this week. And Tikki's smile was enough to brighten any day.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Marinette looked back up at the bakery with confidence running through her veins. It couldn't be that hard. If her parents could run the shop on their own then why couldn't she. She was Ladybug after all! She could do this!

She could not do this.

Marinette's parents had done their best to make running the shop as easy as it could be, but the young high schooler hadn't comprehended the amount of work it took to run the shop on her own. There were orders to fill, customers to cater, shelves to be stocked and restocked, trucks to be unloaded, and all sorts of pastries and breads to be baked. It was too much work for one person. Even more so when that person was a sophomore in high school, a fashion designer in training, and most importantly, Paris's most needed heroine, Ladybug. Marinette had convinced herself that the recent increase in akuma attacks was no accident. It was as if Hawkmoth knew just how busy Ladybug had been!

As her eyes glanced over at the clock, Marinette realized it was finally closing time. After changing the cheery OPEN sign to CLOSED, Marinette slumped to the bakery floor and leaned back to rest her head against the cabinets. Not a second later, her clearly exhausted kwami joined her on the floor. Looking over at her friend, Marinette knew that the week had been much harder for the kwami than it had been for herself. Not only had Tikki gone through several transformations throughout the week, but she had also helped Marinette with all the baking she had to do. On top of that, Tikki had stayed at the shop while Marinette was at school to get caught up on all the orders needing to be filled. Marinette, on the other hand, didn't feel she deserved the amount of help the kwami offered, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Fortunately, the week was nearly over, and her parents would be returning the next day. Marinette didn't think she could handle another day like this.

Marinette gently picked up the now sleeping kwami and carefully placed her in the ever familiar purse as she stood. Marinette then walked around the house, making sure to check and doublecheck that all the windows and doors were locked as she made her way upstairs. A few minutes later she found herself sitting in the chair by her desk when a notification popped up on her computer. After taking a look at the screen, Marinette found a text from her parents.

'Need to talk. Are you available for video chat sweetie?'

Hmm… Well that was strange. It was true that her parents had talked with her through video chat each night, but it was usually very casual and cheery. Marinette sincerely hoped everything was alright, so she made sure to send a quick reply.

'Yep, im available. call me when ur rdy.'

Not a minute later an answer call icon popped up on her screen with a picture of her parents floating above the words _Mom and Dad_. Marinette hurriedly clicked the button as she wondered what her parents needed to talk about.

The picture of her parents was then enlarged to cover the whole screen, only to be replaced by a live video of her parents' hotel room. The layout of the room had been exactly how Marinette remembered from previous video chats, but the normal cheeriness and excitement in her parents eyes was clearly missing.

"Marinette! Sweetie how are you doing? Did you have a good day today?" Marinette was glad to hear her mother trying to keep things light, but she could still tell that it was only to lighten what came next.

"I'm doing fine Mom. And today was a bit rough, but I got through it. Umm… Didn't you say there was something you needed to talk to me about?"

"Yes, there was sweetie… You see, while your father and I were here, we met this wonderful young man who offered us a great deal that would really help the bakery. We haven't said yes yet because we wanted to speak with you first, Mari dear. The thing is, if we do accept his deal, your father and I will have to stay a few more days. But we'll only stay if that's alright with you sweetie. We don't want to create more work for you than we already have."

Marinette's heart sank. A few more days? She had barely made it through the week! She was so shocked, that Marinette couldn't even comprehend what she said next.

"Yeah mom that's fine. I can totally handle a few more days. No sweat! If this is going to help the bakery, then I say go for it!."

"Oh Marinette are you sure? You know that we can just come home now if it's too much work for you."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine Mom."

Marinette and her parents then spent the next 20 minutes or so just chatting about their day, but Marinette's mind was elsewhere. She couldn't stop thinking about how she could fit everything into her already crazy schedule. It was too much for one girl! She'd have to give up something. Homework? Food? Sleep? Sleep it is. Who needs sleep anyways?

As she said goodbye to her parents, Marinette couldn't help but hear a faint shriek in the distance. After running up the stairs to her bed and opening the hatch, that faint shriek grew into a loud scream, accompanying the other crashes and cries of terror that went hand in hand with an akuma attack.

Hello Ladybug. Goodbye sleep.

Four days later, the sleep deprived heroine was struggling to stay awake in the first class of the day. Her best friend Alya had been worried about her all week, but seeing as she offered no explanation, Marinette kept receiving worried glances as well as 'are you okay?' and 'whats up' texts in the middle of class. By now Marinette was just ignoring her phone and trying not to fall asleep (again).

With a start, Marinette felt her phone buzz yet again, then a second time, and finally a third before Alya gently nudged her shoulder. Marinette tried to pretend she hadn't felt anything, but four 'gentle' nudges later she had her phone in hand and a clearly satisfied Alya sitting next to her.

The first text was of course from Alya; it was extremely similar to her previous texts.

'Hey girl u doing okay? You know u can always talk to me if somethings up Mari.'

The message was sweet, but Marinette still couldn't bear to bother her friend. So she quickly swiped her phone screen to read the next text.

'Marinette im really worried about u girl. Did something happen? Do i need to bEAT SOMEONE UP FOR U? Hey jkjk, but srsly, plz tell me whats up, i wanna be there for my BFF u know?'

Marinette wanted to tell her everything right then and there, but since there was still one message left, she gave Alya a quick smile and returned to her phone. This next message wasn't from Alya though. It was from her mom. Marinette frantically opened the text, and her face fell with each word.

'Marinette, we're really sorry, but Tom and I won't make it back tomorrow. We were ready to leave today, but there was an accident at the airport and all the flights have been delayed. We still don't know when we'll make it back, but we're doing everything we can. Tom and I just found out and we figured you should know as soon as possible. We never meant for you to be in charge of the shop this long so if you need to you can close it for now. We don't want you to have to work so hard while we're gone. We both love you Mari and we'll be home soon. :)'

Marinette silently pocketed her phone as she felt the tears forming in her eyes. She was beyond exhausted and extremely stressed, but she couldn't possibly cry now. She couldn't cry in class, not in front of Alya, and especially not in front of Adrien. She had to be strong or else she would let everyone down. She had to keep the shop open or she would let her parents down...

It was taking all of her energy to keep the tears at bay, so Marinette was surprised when she felt the warm, salty tears rolling down her face. She couldn't stay in class any longer, so she did the only thing she could think of. Run.

Alya had been worried about Marinette all day. All week in fact. The usually lovestruck girl had grown quieter and less Adrien obsessed by the day. And yet Alya hadn't done anything to help, yet. As soon as she found out why Marinette was so down, she would fix it. She looked over at the girl sitting next to her who was deliberately avoiding eye contact.

So far her concerned texts hadn't worked, but Alya figured she'd try one last time to reach out before she took more drastic measures. She sent one text but felt that wasn't enough, so she added another that was more from the heart. Alya waited for Marinette to pick up her phone, but when she didn't, Alya realized her friend was ignoring her. In return, she scooted closer to Marinette and nudged her shoulder. Once, twice, four times before Marinette huffed in compliance and pulled out her phone.

At first, Marinette's face showed no emotion, then a small smile formed on her face and she gave Alya a thankful look. Alya was smiling too, until she saw Marinette's grin disappear. In a single second, the girl had gone from thankful to distraught. Marinette looked almost terrified of what she was reading. And then, she was crying. Alya's friend made no sound, but tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto and the desk. Alya immediately reached out to comfort her friend, but in a split second, Marinette was up and out the door with hands on her face to cover her crying eyes.

Alya stood and heard a clank as her chair fell backwards. She was poised to run after her friend, but suddenly Adrien stood. Except it was more like a jump followed by a sprint. By the time Alya had taken a single step, Adrien was out the door in pursuit of Marinette.

The moment Marinette had stepped outside, her tear streaked eyes searched for a place to hide. The first thing to catch her eye was a bench to the side of the school, hidden mostly by shrubbery. Her slim legs quickly propelled her to the bench, where she sat hunched over with hands over her eyes. She knew that Alya would probably come find her soon, but right now she just needed to be alone.

The last thing Marinette wanted to do was let her parents down. But now, she might have to do just that. That single thought was all she needed to burst into tears yet again.

Before she knew it, Marinette heard footsteps coming her way. It was too soon. She didn't want to talk to Alya right now. She couldn't. Once Alya made it to the bench, she sat down next to Marinette and placed a tentative, yet comforting hand on her shoulder. Marinette was grateful for the gesture, though it only made her want to confide in her friend even more.

"Oh Alya I just can't do this anymore." Marinette guessed that her heart had finally decided to spill the beans, so her mind quickly went along with it.

"I've just been so stressed lately. I'm so busy and tired and I don't know what to do. Alya I don't even have time to obsess over Adrien anymore." That moment Marinette had decided to look up at her friend for support. Except it wasn't her friend. Well, not the friend she was expecting. It was Adrien.


	2. Chapter 2

**[Thank you all so much for the faves, follows and reviews! I hope you all enjoy chapter 2!]**

Chapter 2

Marinette stared up at Adrien with her mouth wide open and her face still red from crying. She had just told Adrien, to his face, that she was obsessed with him. Marinette wouldn't have been surprised if she exploded just then.

Adrien looked a bit taken aback, and possibly flattered at the offhand remark, but he made no attempt to leave. Marinette had absolutely no idea what to do.

"O-oh I'm so s-sorry Adrien I thought you were Alya. I-i didn't know. A-a-and when I said obsessed I meant over y-your work and the designs you w-wear cause I really like fashion and your super good at b-being fashion… I jUST REALLY LIKE YOUR CLOTHEs."

Adrien blinked a few times then smiled at Marinette after a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. Luckily, Marinette was looking at the ground, so she couldn't see the enormous blush pass over the model's face.

"Umm, thank you. I guess? But umm, I came out here to see if you were doing alright, so are you? Uhh doing alright I mean."

Suddenly, the weight of everything going on in Marinette's life returned to her and she had to keep herself from crying again. However, she was grateful for the distraction from Adrien at the moment.

"Not really, no. B-but I don't want to bother you or anyone else, I-i can figure it out on my own."

"Marinette!" The girl jumped at the intensity that her crush said her name and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Sorry, but I don't want to see you like this. I wanna help you if I can, cause I know everyone's really missing your smile. I promise it wouldn't be a bother, it'd actually be a pleasure to help a friend out. So i'd really like to help you, if I can, so that we can all see you happy and smiling again."

Everyone wanted to see her smile again? Now that she thought about it, smiling might have been one of the things she had given up along with sleep. Wait a sec had Adrien just called her his friend?

"D-do you really want to hear about my problems?"

"If it will make you feel better, then yes of course."

"O-okay then. Well, it's just been really hard this past couple of w-weeks. M-my mom and dad are in England right now, and they have been for a w-while. O-our family owns a-a bakery though, so my p-parents left me in charge. But, ummm… They d-don't know this, but I also have this volunteer j-job, and people really depend on me to do this job. A-and then with all the tests we've had lately, I haven't had much time to sleep or even take a break. M-my parents just texted m-me in class. They were supposed to head home today, but now they d-don't even know when they'll be back. T-that's why I ran out earlier… I-i just don't think I can do this anymore…."

By now Marinette was crying again, and deliberately avoiding eye contact. Adrien felt almost guilty that he hadn't done anything sooner. Though he and Marinette didn't talk much, he still liked to consider her a friend. And his friend had been suffering this whole time. He hadn't even known.

Looking over at his classmate, he realized how small and frail she could be. But in the smallness, he also saw her strength, He couldn't imagine being so stressed that he'd run out of class. It must be so hard for her right now. But she had fought through it all for nearly two weeks now! All on her own. Alone. Just like him… But Adrien was used to being alone. Well, at home at least. Marinette had only just discovered how awful it could be, to really be alone.

Silently, he pulled one arm up from his lap, and the other from Marinette's shoulder, and wrapped them around Marinette, encasing her in what he hoped was a comforting hug. The girl stiffened at first, and Adrien was prepared to let go, but then, she took her hands off her eyes and hugged him back.

The two sat in that hug in complete silence for what felt like hours. It reminded Marinette of the day her parents had left. If there was one thing she missed, it was the daily hugs she got from her mom and dad. Hugs always made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. And getting a hug from Adrien, well it was beyond any of her wildest dreams. She was so relieved to have finally told someone, to finally have that weight lifted from her shoulders. Marinette was so happy that she couldn't hear herself whisper a quiet 'Thank You' in Adrien's ear.

Adrien had heard it though, and his heart swelled. Here he was, helping a friend and making them feel better. Marinette was so sweet and it made him enormously happy to see her happy again. He wanted to do more for her. To see her genuinely smiling rather than what he assumed was her fear of him. He didn't know why, but Marinette had always seemed to be intimidated by him. Maybe he could change that. Maybe they could be friends!

In a fit of excitement, he pulled himself out the hug and placed his hands on her shoulders with a thrilled grin spreading across his face. He did wait until Marinette was looking at him with her crystally sky blue eyes before speaking though.

"Marinette! I just had a great idea!"

"W-what i-is it A-adrie-"

"I could help you out at the bakery! I'm really good with people so I could help out at the counter and even though I don't bake much, you could teach me then I could help you get caught up on all your orders and stuff! A-and if not then I could at least help you with homework or studying so school won't be so stressful. B-but only if that's alright with you Marinette. I'll find some way to help you, even if you say no though!"

Marinette didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say or exactly what Adrien had just said. He just looked so happy and excited and hot and hopeful. It made her want to squeal and jump up and down and scream at Alya for a few hours. But she had to give Adrien an answer. As she thought about how to respond, what he had said finally clicked. She felt her face go beet red and Marinette didn't think she'd be able to form a complete sentence ever again.

"NoNOnoNOno I CAN'T HAVE YOU DO THAT FOR ME!" She felt herself squeak at the word 'me' so she quickly looked away in embarrassment. "I-i just d-don't want to bother y-you, i-it's fine. Y-you've already d-done so m-much for me!"

Adrien stood up and moved around so Marinette could see his face, and surprisingly, he was still smiling, and possibly blushing?

"Please? I really want to help you."

"O-okay." Somehow, Adrien smiled even more at that and put out his hand to help her up.

"Are you ready to go back to class Mari?"

Adrien had just called her 'Mari'. He was holding his hand out to her like a gentleman. Marinette really was going to explode! This Adrien high she was on would be the death of her. But somehow, she was able to take his hand, Adrien's hand, and stand up without falling over (yet). Adrien then walked Marinette back to class like a gentleman. They didn't speak, but only because the two were screaming internally at their good luck. But once they were nearing their classroom, Adrien stopped and turned to face Marinette.

"Oh I forgot to ask. Would it be alright for me to come over and help out today?"

"Mmhmm."

"Cool, I'll meet you in front of the school after our last period."

"Mmkay."

With arrangements made, the two entered the classroom and quietly sat back in their seats. No one said a word, not even the teacher. Though some of the students did look very excited for some reason. Little did the two friends know, that Marinette's chosen hiding place was in plain view of the classroom window.

The rest of school was a blur for Marinette. She was in one class, then suddenly she was in the next. And when she finally thought school was over, Alya would drag her to yet another class. Marinette vaguely remember Alya asking her questions about Adrien throughout the day, but any mention of his name caused Marinette to turn tomato red and shut up for at least an hour.

It was finally the last class of the day when Alya couldn't wait any longer. She turned to Marinette and whirled her chair around to face the blogger. However, Alya was careful to speak in nothing louder than a harsh whisper, so as not to bug their teacher.

"Okay what happened girl? What'd he say? Did. He. Ask. You. Out?"

"N-not really, no. Umm, he's just gonna help me with something after school. That's all."

Alya gave her friend a waiting look, seeing as there had to be more than that. But yet again, Marinette wasn't going to say any more on the matter.

"Okay fine Mari. You can have this little secret to yourself, but you've gotta tell me later okay?"

"O-okay, thanks Alya."

It wasn't even a second later when the bell rang to let the students out of their prison. Marinette was quick to pick up her stuff and book it out the door before Alya could ask any more questions. Once she had made it to the hallway, Marinette slowed down and took a few deep breaths to prepare herself for the rest of the day. The day she would be spending with Adrien. She needed to compose herself so she could actually operate at the bakery. So, naturally, she started going through what needed to be done that day. While going through the lists in her head, she found that it would be much easier to complete everything on time with Adrien there to help.

She was still going through orders, when Marinette found herself crashing into someone from behind.

"Oh i'm so sorry I wasn't looking where I was goin-" Of course it was him. It just had to be Adrien.

"No no it's fine Marinette. At least we were able to find each other. Are you ready to go?"

All Marinette could manage was a small nod, so Adrien took it as a yes and led Marinette past the school gate, letting her take the lead once they left school property.

At first the two friends walked to Marinette's house in complete silence. It was awkward to say the least, but Marinette was probably incapable of speaking at the moment, seeing how her day had gone so far. Not only had she confessed to Adrien, but she had cried in front of him several times, been hugged by him, and let's not forget running into him as soon as she had recovered from everything else. It had been one crazy day, and it wasn't even over yet.

To Marinette's relief and surprise, Adrien broke the silence with a question.

"So how are doing? Other than what you told me earlier."

"I-i'm doing alright. You?"

"Same."

 _Well that was a bad question._ Adrien thought to himself. Maybe he could ask her about the bakery. No, no, he couldn't ask about that. It would just be insensitive.

"Soooo…. What's it like working at a bakery?" By now Adrien assumed his mouth was moving faster than his mind. He really needed to think before he spoke. But Marinette seemed to be fine with this particular question.

"D-did you mean how it normally is, or just this week?"

"Oh, just normally. Sorry about that."

"Well, it's u-usually really fun. I enjoy b-baking and being in the kitchen. I-it smells like bread and c-cake in there. Until n-now it's been pretty relaxing."

"That's really cool Marinette. Breads and pastries are some of my favorite foods. Do you have any other hobbies?" Adrien felt great. He was really getting somewhere. He was getting to know this sweet girl while he walked to her house to make food.

On the other hand, Marinette was overwhelmed. She had thought she knew all of Adrien's favorite foods. But apparently he liked breads and pastries. It was a good thing she lived at a bakery.

"O-oh, yeah I do. I a-actually really enjoy designing clothes. I love sketching out designs and being able to make them by hand. I-its really really fun!" Adrien chuckled a bit at this and to her disappointment, Marinette felt herself blushing again.

"That's really cool Mari. I think it's great that you have a hobby that makes you so happy."

"D-don't you have any hobbies like that Adrien?"

Adrien nearly tripped at that. He had been asking the questions till now. That had been easy. And now he had to answer. He had to tell Marinette about his dull, boring life. Crap.

"Ohhh. Umm, not really. I mean, fencing can be fun sometimes, but I only do it cause my dad wants me to. And I don't really enjoy modeling eithe-"

"B-but you're so good at it!" Marinette clasped her hands over her mouth. She quickly made a mental note that she wasn't allowed to say anything else today. If she did, it would only embarrass her even more.

"T-thank you. No one's really told me that before…" Marinette sneaked a glance at Adrien, and he was smiling. And not his trained model smile, this one was genuine; he was really, truly happy.

It was too soon when they finally reached the bakery. At the door, Marinette clumsily looked around in her bag for the keys, and once she found them, she hurriedly unlocked the door and gestured for Adrien to go inside.

*CRASH*

Marinette jumped inside and looked around while Adrien watched her with startled eyes.

"What was that!? Do you know, Mari?" She did know. Marinette suddenly remembered who was here. And she couldn't let Adrien see them.

"Umm, I'll go deal with that, j-just wait here please I won't be long!" Adrien opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but she was already out of the room. Man that girl was fast.

Marinette had booked it up the stairs to her family's living area to find Tikki struggling to lift an abnormally heavy platter from off the floor. The tiny kwami looked up when the designer arrived and signed in relief.

"Tikki what happened?"

"I was frosting this cake when I knocked the platter off the table, I should have been watching where I was going." Tikki vaguely gestured to the half-frosted cake and continued to struggle with the platter, but Marinette could clearly see how exhausted the kwami was. She walked over to her friend and took the platter and placed it on the counter, where it wouldn't fall again. Then she picked Tikki up and carried her to her room.

"Thank you so much Tikki, but you've done enough. Adrien's here now, and he's gonna help me, so i'll be fine. Now you need to get your rest." Tikki only smiled graciously at Marinette before falling into a deep sleep. The girl was careful to make sure her kwami was sleeping peacefully before making her way back down to Adrien.

"What was that Marinette? Did something break? Are you okay?" Adrien hadn't moved a muscle since Marinette had run off a few minutes ago, though she did notice that the door was now closed.

"Y-yeah i'm fine, nothing broke. I-it was just… my cat! She knocked a platter off the counter upstairs so I put her in my room. E-everything's fine." It was surprising, but Marinette could see Adrien visibly relax. Had he really been that worried about her?

"That's cool, what's your cat's name?"

"Uhhh, it's Ti-Kikki. It's Kikki. Yeah."

"Awesome, maybe you could bring her out later. I happen to be a huge cat lover."

"S-sure, maybe I could." No. No she couldn't. Under no circumstances would she bring up cats. She had no cats (other than Cat Noir of course).

"So Mari, what did you need me to do?" Marinette mentally slapped herself to bring her back to reality. She had a lot to do, and Adrien needed to know how to bake.

"I-i could teach you how to bake something. I n-need to restock our 'display cakes', so what would you say to making some chocolate cake?"


	3. Chapter 3

**[Thanks** **again** **for all the sweet reviews and feedback on Chocolate Cake!]**

Chapter 3

Adrien had to physically hold himself back from consuming the mass amount of sweets around him. He was supposed to be helping, not hindering. But the cookies in the oven called to him. Maybe he could sneak one later.

"Okay, next we need the cocoa powder." Adrien was immediately snapped back to reality. He was baking a cake. Or, trying to at least. Marinette was doing most of the baking. He had just been watching her bake this whole time. It was a strange sight to see. Marinette, who was usually fumbling over every other word, now speaking each sentence with ease as she poured first flour, then sugar, and eggs into a mixing bowl. It must be the fact that she was home where she belonged, or doing something she enjoyed; probably both.

"And now we're done!" Marinette clapped her powder covered hands and looked at Adrien with accomplishment and pure joy written on her face. He smiled back and pretended that he had been paying attention. "Do you think you can do it on your own now Adrien?"

The model nodded vigorously. He had no idea what had just happened, but he could probably figure it out, eventually…

"Thanks so much Adrien! I need to go upstairs and work on an order before we open the shop. Will you be alright down here on your own?"

"Yes." _Maybe._ _ **No**_ **.**

"Cool! I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

Adrien waited a couple of minutes to make sure that Marinette wasn't coming back down before he picked up his bag and unzipped it to let Plagg out into the open air.

"Plagg, please tell me you heard what she was saying?"

"What who was saying? Adrien I have no idea what's going on, I was trying to sleep you doofus. I was dreaming about cheese. Cheese Adrien! CHEESE!"

Adrien groaned and softly banged his head on the counter a few times. Plagg wouldn't be any help. He should have been paying attention. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn how to bake, he was just...distracted. There were sweets all around him, including the single sweetest person he had ever met. It made him extraordinarily happy to see Marinette comfortable around him for once. It was just, wait a sec. All of a sudden he remembered something important. Something that could help him bake.

"Plagg!" The kwami jumped at the sudden noise. "I have a phone! I can just google it! Google had saved me!"

"Yay for google… Don't wake me up again." Plagg quickly flew back into the bag and did his best to zip it closed before he lied down to take a long, uninterrupted nap.

By now, Adrien had his phone out and was waiting for the 'Baking for Dummies' page to load. It took him a few minutes to finally notice a piece of paper lying on the counter. Of course... She had left him the recipe. Well, he thought, time to figure this out.

All week, Marinette had been using everything she could to make managing the bakery easier. That included using her family kitchen alongside the bakery kitchen.

She had just put her ready-to-be-baked chocolate cake into her family's oven, seeing as Tikki still had several batches of cookies in the bakery ovens downstairs. And now, Marinette was decorating a huge three layered cake that Tikki had been working on when the two teens arrived. It didn't take long to finish, so 20 minutes later, Marinette made her way downstairs to put the cake in the back until the customer arrived to pick it up. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Adrien working on his cake, but everything looked fine, so she continued on to the back.

But once she turned around, she was greeted with flour. First of all, she noticed the large blob of flour on the floor, then her eyes followed a small trail of even more flour that made its way to Adrien, who was covered in flour. It was in his gorgeous hair, on his black shirt, and plastered all over his designer jeans. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

Marinette tried to keep herself from laughing, but in the end, laughing was inevitable. There was flour everywhere. She didn't know it was possible to make such a mess. And Adrien's guilty smile made it even worse. She could not stop laughing. But for once, she wasn't embarrassed or disappointed for expressing herself. It felt nice to laugh again. To really, truly laugh.

Unbeknownst to Marinette, her laugh was extremely contagious. Adrien knew how ridiculous he looked, so it wasn't long before he was laughing along with her. It was even funnier that she hadn't noticed the flour until after she had put the cake away. And seeing her happy just made his heart flutter. He didn't know why, but he felt amazing. Actually, he did know why. It was her. There was just something about Marinette that could make anyone smile. It was just then that Adrien realized this moment was probably the first time she had laughed all week. He hoped that by helping her out, he could see her laugh like that even more.

They stood there laughing for a few minutes before Marinette realized what time it was.

"Ahh! I totally forgot! I need to open the shop!" Marinette started heading toward the front door, but after taking a few steps, she spun on her heel and faced Adrien again.

"A-are you done with that cake?"

"Yeah."

"Can you take it upstairs and put it in the oven? It should say what to set the oven to on the recipe. Oh, and take the other cake out first, it should be done by now." Before he could say anything else, Marinette was outside flipping the CLOSED sign to OPEN and getting ready to rush straight back to bake who knows what.

Adrien entered his bake-as-fast-as-you-can mode and dumped the messy batter into the waiting pan and practically threw the bowl into a nearby sink. And just as he turned around to head upstairs, Marinette zipped past him into the kitchen area of the bakery.

He briskly ran upstairs to find a cozy family kitchen with the smell of chocolate cake wafting through the air. While looking for the source of the sweet smell, he saw a warm oven tucked away in the corner, and quickly made his way to it. He dropped the pan on the counter and pulled the oven open to be greeted by the sweet scent of Marinette's cooking, only just remembering to grab a hot pad before pulling the mouthwatering cake out of the oven.

A second later, Adrien all but threw his masterpiece into the waiting oven and shut the door with a bang. He couldn't help but twirl around to grab the recipe as he set the oven timer and ran downstairs. He just couldn't help how happy he was. Adrien hadn't had this much fun in ages. And seeing Marinette being so chill and comfortable around him was just great. Oh it was amazing, that girl was amazing.

But once he reached the stairs, Adrien was immediately hit with the sugary aroma of freshly baked cookies. And of course, he grew extremely hungry. The cookies just smelled so good. He would have to ask Marinette if he could take a few once they closed the shop.

As the model wallowed in his hunger, the aforementioned girl ran past him with a tray of cookies bouncing in her mitten covered hands, and Adrien looked longingly at the gooey goodness. However, his hunger didn't stop him from hearing a small 'ding' from the front of bakery.

"Adrien!" Marinette shouted as she ran, "Can you man the counter for me?!"

"Yeah be right there!" He shouted back as he rushed to the counter. He got there just in time to see a rather prestigious looking man browsing the fancier looking pastries. Maybe his father's etiquette classes could be put to use after all.

"Is there anything I can help you with sir?"

Adrien had been working at the counter for hours. Apparently, when you were a famous model working at a bakery, everyone had to know about it. He had seen Marinette working behind him in the kitchen or heading upstairs to work on probably more orders, so managing the mass amount of people visiting the shop was left to Adrien. It surprised him just how many customers they were getting, and when Marinette would look his way, he could see that she was surprised to. Overwhelmed even. He could tell why she had been so stressed, and he still couldn't imagine how she had managed on her own for so long.

After treating one particularly cheery young woman, he looked up with a smile to help the next customer. He looked up to see a very large man with a bushy mustache and a round face; and to Adrien, he seemed very intimidating. When he spoke, it was in a very deep and gravelly voice that sounded to Adrien like rocks. Possibly boulders.

"I've come to pick up an order with the name of Guerin."

Adrien swallowed and smiled nervously at the man. For once that day, He didn't know what to do (aside from how to make a cake, he still didn't know how to do that). Marinette had always magically appeared when someone had come along to pick up an order. But now she was nowhere to be seen. He looked around frantically, trying to spot her somewhere in the mass of people, but it was no use. He gave the man an apologetic look and turned around to search for Marinette when he heard a happy squeal to his right. That girl must be a ninja.

"Mr. Guerin! It's so great to see you. I have your order in the back it will only be a sec." Before Adrien even had time to turn around, she was gone again and he was left with this Mr. Guerin. Though the man did look very intimidating, the way Marinette had acted toward him seemed to contradict that idea. Adrien was about to make some small talk when he felt a small pinch on his ankle. He looked down to see a pair of both hungry and angry green eyes look up at him. Though to Adrien they looked mostly hungry.

Luckily, Marinette reentered the room just then, and perhaps even more luckily, she unknowingly offered him a way out of Plagg's nagging.

"Hey Adrien this is Mr. Guerin," she said while setting the cake on the counter. "He's one of our most frequent customers. And would you mind taking care of the rolls upstairs? I was thinking you needed a break from all the chaos down here."

"Yeah sure. Umm weird question, but do you have any cheese?" Adrien made sure to whisper the cheese part. He didn't need everyone here to think he was cheese crazy or something.

"W-why?"

"I'm just uhh really craving cheese right now."

Marinette giggled a bit before answering.

"Okay help yourself to whatever's in the fridge upstairs." Adrien sighed in relief and Marinette smiled just a bit more than usual. After making his way upstairs with Plagg tickling his leg the whole way (which was extremely difficult), he raided the fridge for all the cheese sticks and cheese balls he could find and threw them at Plagg with no thought to the safety of the cheese.

"Adrien!" Plagg said as he stroked a ball of cheese, "You do not treat cheese this way! It is too precious to be thrown around like that!"

The boy glared at the kwami and quickly turned around before the urge to hit Plagg was too strong.

"My precioussss…"

Just walk away Adrien, just walk away, walk right into the counte-

"Ooomph!"

Of course there was a counter there, he knew that. And now he was mentally smacking the hysterical kwami who was laughing and eating cheese simultaneously.

"Adrien, I don't think you understand how funny this is. And it's even better with you covered in in all that flour." Adrien stopped.

"What?"

"Can you not see all that flour caked on your clothes? It looks hilarious!"

The flour. He'd never changed, never washed it off. He'd been covered in flour for hours and he hadn't even known. All those customers. They must have thought he was cosplaying as a marshmallow or something.

"Adrien! Oh this is great! Your face is as red as your hair is white! Hahahaha!"

The boy turned and gave Plagg a glare that would rival his father's (if his face hadn't been beet red that is). He immediately turned to the sink and tuned out Plagg's uncontrollable laughter as he vigorously scrubbed at his clothes and hair. It had been nearly 10 minutes when he finally gave up. He had gotten most of the flour out but there were still a few stains, some of which he could cover up with the white jacket he had left downstairs.

Just as he was about to head back downstairs, he remembered the reason he had come up in the first place and made his way to the oven. Still annoyed at how he had slipped up, Adrien didn't notice the unusually heavy platter on the edge of the counter, or the pile of flour on the floor. So as soon as he dumped the warm tray of rolls on the counter, Adrien stepped back into the flour and felt flat on his back. He didn't have time to right himself, because the platter Tikki had dropped earlier was about to fall on his face. He ended up needing both hands to keep it from crushing him, so when the clumsily placed tray of rolls started sliding, Adrien stuck his foot up to stop it and immediately regretted his decision. The tray was hot. He was so glad he was wearing shoes.

"PLAGG HELP ME!" The lazy kwami looked indifferently at the scene before him, and turned his head away before responding.

"Apologize to _Camemberto_ first…" Adrien didn't want to deal with the kwami's snarky remarks right then.

"PLAGG GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OVER HERE AND HELP ME BEFORE MARINETTE COMES UP!"

"Apologize!" The model unwillingly gave in to the ludicrous request.

"I'm sooooorrrry _Camemberto_ , now help me!" Plagg sighed and gently placed the half eaten _Camemberto_ on the table and slowly made his way to the struggling Adrien.

"Push the rolls back onto the counter Plagg!"

"Ooookay." Plagg flew over to the pan and started picking up the rolls and setting them on the counter one by one. Adrien was ready to go all Cat Noir on the kwami, but sadly, that wasn't pawsible.

"The tray, don't forget the tray…"

"Oh the tray. Adrien I thought you just said the rolls. You really need to specify." Adrien decided, right then and there, that he would starve the kwami until he needed to transform again.

Once the rolls and the tray were on the counter, Plagg was lifting the abnormally heavy platter off of Adrien, when the two heard footsteps nearby. The kwami instantly dropped the platter to go hide. Adrien barely had time to stop it from crushing his face.

That was when Marinette appeared from the stairway and looked at Adrien with a mix of concern and befuddlement on her face. But rather than laughing or questioning him, she walked over with a smile and picked up the platter with ease.

"Let me help you with that." She set it back on the counter and held out a hand to help the model up. Adrien graciously took it and stood with his head bowed.

"I'm really sorry about today Mari, I've probably been more of a hinderance than any help really."

"N-no Adrien, you've been great!" The boy looked up in surprise. "I've really enjoyed having you here to help! It's been so much fun and I really needed a break from all the stress and responsibility. Thank you, really." Adrien was grateful for the remark, but he still felt bad for messing up so much that day. He really didn't know much about managing a bakery, but he wanted to make it up to her somehow.

"Hey Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be alright for me to come help out tomorrow too? I feel like I haven't done enough, and I can't imagine letting you do all this on your own." Marinette nodded happily and Adrien noticed a soft blush on her cheeks. He couldn't help it, she was just too cute.

"Is there anything else you need me to do before I go?"

"Nope, I just closed up shop. And you've really been a big help today. It was nice just having you here." Adrien smiled in thanks and the two made their way downstairs. The bakery was now empty, so Adrien grabbed his jacket from behind the counter and started heading towards the door.

"Adrien w-wait a sec!" The boy turned around to see Marinette reach behind a counter and reappear with a bag of cookies in her hand.

"F-for all your hard work today." She held out the cookies toward him and gave him the cutest smile he'd seen all day. Little did Adrien know that he was blushing as red as Ladybug.

Before taking the cookies, he stepped toward this wonderful girl and gave her a huge hug. She immediately hugged him back and the two couldn't help but squeal internally at their good luck. They ended up sharing several thank yous and goodbyes before Adrien made it out the door, but in the end, they both felt great. Adrien was a mixture of embarrassment and excitement, but overall, he'd enjoyed getting to know Marinette more, and he looked forward to seeing her tomorrow.

Marinette, on the other hand, was ecstatic. She had just spent half the day with Adrien, and she would be seeing him again tomorrow. She stood there in the bakery, twirling with happiness, until some loud noises outside the bakery broke the silence. All of the excitement from that day was pushed back as the heroine rushed up the stairs to find Tikki. The girl really didn't feel like stopping an akuma attack right now, she was exhausted. But, it was her duty, and some akumized citizen needed her and Cat Noir to save them.

A few minutes later, the two heroes of Paris could be seen flying over the rooftops of their city. Both of which were just a bit more tired, and slightly more joyful than usual.

 **[Just so you all know, I will be writing more. I'll get chapter 4 out as soon as I can]**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

For months, Ladybug and Cat Noir had been going through the motions. See an akuma, transform, beat the akuma, detransform. It was that simple. And with the two having certain limits to their powers, most of their interactions were 'strickly professional'.

With the exception of a few mishaps here and there, everything between the two heroes had been the same. Until now that is. Ladybug didn't know what is was, but there was something off, something different about Cat Noir that day. It wasn't bad, but the heroine couldn't decide if it was good either. Their fight with The Businessaster had started out normally, but as it went on, Ladybug couldn't help but notice that something was missing. It wasn't long before she figured out that it was Cat's bad luck. To any other bystander, it would be next to impossible to see the signs of Cat's improving luck, but all Ladybug needed to see was his smile. Not his usual cocky grin, but a genuine, happy smile. Little did the heroine know that she was the reason for that smile. But to be fair, Cat didn't know it either. That's not to say it wasn't a strange, no, a new sight to see for the young heroine. Sadly, Ladybug was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she dodged a barrage of office supplies heading her way.

Ladybug briskly ducked behind an abandoned car to collect her thoughts while Cat distracted the akuma. From what she had gathered, Ladybug could tell that The Businessaster was indeed a business disaster. Well, it was to him anyway. She assumed that the man had applied for a desk job but was turned down for some unknown reason, and was now seeking revenge on his would be boss. She took a quick peek at the akumized man and the first thing to catch her eye was the tie. It was tucked into the man's pitch black suit and emitted a sort of purple, evil aura.

"Cat! The akuma's in his tie!" Her partner looked back and smiled at his lady, only just having time to dodge a giant pencil that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Though he wasn't fast enough to block the giant textbook that slammed into him from behind. Ladybug sprang from her hiding place and threw her yoyo in the air with a shout of, "Lucky Charm!" The akumized man turned her way as a spotted water bottle fell into her open arms.

"What?" Both the hero and villain said simultaneously. Not only were some of Hawk Moth's victims getting ridiculous, but so were the 'lucky charms'.

However, it wasn't long before Ladybug had formulated a plan and was only seconds from executing it. Cat had just stood up when Ladybug yoyed his way and landed right on top of him, knocking the hero head over heels.

"Ah my lady has finally fallen for me, this is _purrf_ ect" The heroine ignored her partner's obnoxious puns and grabbed his hand. A look of pure surprise spread across the hero's face, but then he noticed that he was being used as a bottle opener and frowned at the girl. She only smirked back as Cat's claw poked a hole in plastic bottle. She then proceeded to stand up and hold out a hand to pull Cat up as well. Only to spray him in the face with that same water bottle.

"MErroowww!" Cat jumped and batted his 'paws' at his face, unknowingly running straight into The Businessaster. The man shoved the cat away and Ladybug took her chance. She ran for the man and blasted him in the face with what was left in the water bottle. As he rubbed the water out of his eyes, Ladybug ducked down and took the tie with her. The wet tie ripped in half and the heroine quickly purified the akuma before it could escape.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" After everything was returned to normal, Ladybug was left with a now dry Cat and a confused businessman. She gave a quick explanation to the akuma victim and made sure he would be alright as he headed home. The second she turned toward Cat, she heard a small beep from her miraculous and knew it was time for her to head home. And not only because of the miraculous. Marinette also needed to finish her math homework and bake another cake before she could go to sleep.

"Sorry Cat, but I gotta run. See you around." Her partner gave an extravagant bow and smiled sweetly at Ladybug before answering.

"See you around my lady, it was lovely seeing you again after such a great day." The girl wondered what could have made his day so great, but seeing him happy was all she needed to bring a smile to her face as well.

"See ya kitty." At that the two heroes left, and both were looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

"Marinette wait!" The girl heard her best friend call, but she couldn't stop, the cookies were at stake.

"Sorry Alya I gotta go! The cookies need me! Ttyl!" The blogger was fuming inside but decided to let her friend go. She didn't know what was going on, but something was making Marinette happy, and Alya certainly wouldn't be the one to ruin it. It had been two days since Mari had run out of class, and despite her dozens, no hundreds of texts, the girl had given no hint to her sudden enlightenment. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Marinette had sent a few texts, but they mostly consisted of Adrien, flour, cookies, and of course, Adrien. It wasn't much help to Alya, seeing as that was all the girl talked about anyway. It hadn't even occurred to her that Adrien could be helping Mari at the bakery. It was next to impossible in the young blogger's mind.

Just as Alya was about to head out the school doors, someone pushed past her with a "Sorry Alya!" as they booked it around the corner. It took the girl a few seconds to realize that it was Adrien. Before she had time to question the model's antics, a panting Nino appeared at her side and placed a tired hand on her shoulder.

"Nino, what's up with Adrien?"

"I-I don't know. He won't tell me anything. He just said something about cookies and ran off."

"Really? So did Marinette. You don't think they're up to something do you?" Nino gave the girl a knowing look and Alya knew what was coming next. "We're gonna go spy on them aren't we?"

"Of course." Nino smirked, and as if by magic, his energy was regained as the two made their way outside to search for their friends.

"I won!"

"What are you talking about Mari? I couldn't possibly lose when there are cookies at stake."

"Come on Adrien, I touched the bakery first. And if you accept that, I'll share my cookies with you."

"Ha, okay deal. You won this time." Marinette smiled gladly at her newfound friend and was quick to open the shop to let the two inside. They were greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies that had both of them yearning for the precious chocolatey goodness they had stuck in the oven during lunch.

Marinette swiftly pulled the cookies out with a loud, "Mmmm.." and set them on the counter to cool while Adrien took their backpacks upstairs. After waiting a few minutes for them to cool, Marinette took half and put them on display in the bakery, placing the rest on a plate for her and Adrien to share. For the past couple of days, the two friends had made bets on who could get to the bakery first. But of course they hadn't been betting with money, cookies were a much better form of currency. With that thought in her head, Marinette couldn't help but give herself a goofy grin. It just made the girl so happy to know that Adrien and her were friends now. She had even overcome her stutter in the few short days they had spent together. The girl wanted to squeal with delight, but she made do with a small 'Yay' that only just escaped her lips.

"Yay what?" Mari froze. It was true that her stutter had left, but her blush was still there, bright as day.

"Ohh I'm just really happy that you're here to help Adrien." The model couldn't help but smile at that.

"I'm more than happy to help Mari!" Adrien was squealing with joy inside. He hadn't been this happy in years. He had thought that the first time he had come over would be great, but coming over everyday was so much better. Though he hadn't said it, the boy had given Marinette the title of best friend. She was just that great.

"So, what are we doing today Mmmmmmari?"

"Well Aaaaaaadrien, I need you to make a batch of rolls for me, think you can do it without making a mess?"

"I told you that we were never to speak of that again. But yes, I can." As he spoke, Adrien's hand drifted to the cookie plate and he stuck one in his mouth once he had finished speaking.

"Okay, Flourboy. We only have an hour so hurry up."

"Alrighty, Sugargirl." Marinette's heart soared at the nickname and she had to turn around and grab a cookie to hide her smiling face. Though she didn't forget to slip a couple into her bag for her ever faithful kwami. Next, she spun around to start baking, and once her and Adrien had gathered the needed ingredients, they continued their conversations from the past couple of days.

"So Mari, have you had any time to work on that design of yours?"

"Not really, though I do work on them in class, and I have been able to get a lot more sleep."

"Heh, well that's always great. By the way, what happened to that volunteer job of yours?"

"What volunteer job?"

"The one you told me about a few days ago. You said something about the people there really needing you."

"Oh yes, that job. Well, I still go when they need me, but I mostly work umm, night shifts."

"What? Mari I thought you said you were getting more sleep!"

"I am, I just can't afford to not 's kinda hard to explain…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not, but thanks anyway. Could we maybe change the subject?"

"Of course, sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Umm, did you have any other hobbies, other than designing and baking?" Hmm, Marinette had to think about that one. It didn't take long to remember her other hobby, but she wasn't about to tell Adrien, seeing as the hobby involved much obsessing over him.

"Not really. I've done a bit of gaming with my dad, but you already know that. What about you? You still haven't told me any of your hobbies." _Even if I already know most of them_ , she thought.

"Well, you know that I model, though it's not a exactly a fun hobby. I fence too, it can get pretty fun at times, but I really prefer just hanging out with my friends. Like now for example." Marinette couldn't help but blush a bit at that.

"That's great, and, ummm. I think you're really great at fencing by the way. It looks really fun and you do it really well."

"Would you maybe like to try it sometime? You've already taught me so much about baking, so, maybe I could return the favor by teaching you how to fence!"

"R-really?! I'd love to, if you're okay with teaching me. I don't know if i could pick it up very quickly."

"That's totally fine Mari. No one picks it up just like that, But in my opinion, I think you'd be a natural."

"T-thank you Adrien. Maybe we can figure everything out once my parents come home."

"Yeah, that would be great!"

The two teens ended up chatting like that for the next hour or so. And by the time they opened the shop, several more inside jokes and bad bread puns had a _rise_ n. For the most part, they had assumed that they were alone, but oh were they wrong. Ever since they had first stepped into the bakery that day, two snooping teens had been watching, and possibly documenting, their every move. Alya and Nino stared in awe at the sight of Marinette flawlessly speaking with Adrien while the two baked together, side by side. Alya and Nino couldn't help but let out a few squeals of triumph as they marveled at the success of this pairing. Sadly, they were forced to leave once Marinette came outside to open the shop. But that didn't stop them from fangirling over their friends and making plans to ensure the pairing worked out.

By now, the shop had been open for a couple of hours. Mari and Adrien had had time to chat and bake, and now they were completing orders and catering to customers. Though neither of the two knew this, nearly everyone who came into the cozy shop started shipping the two co-workers as they worked flawlessly together. Nevertheless, they received several compliments of how they well they were doing with the shop when the two teens were only in high school.

The bakery was full of customers at the moment, but Marinette wasn't worried. She had Adrien there, doing everything he could to help (and this time he wasn't covered in flour). He was mostly working at the counter, but once and awhile, the boy would run quick errands for Marinette while she worked on some of their more complex orders.

"Hey Adrien, can you grab that flower shaped frosting tip for me? It's in the bottom drawer on your left."

"Sure thing! Er, just a moment sir." Adrien quickly found the tip and skipped over to Marinette's side as he presented the tip to her as if it was a ring. "Here you go your _rye_ ness."

"Oh thank you Sir _Flour_ power." As she took the tip, half of their customers groaned at the awful puns, while the other half silently cheered at the sweet scene. The small noise was enough to get the two teens back to work though. Little did they know that they wouldn't be working for long.

Just as Marinette was about to start frosting with the new tip, a slight tremor shook the bakery and chaos ensued. Everyone know what the tremor had meant, and all but Marinette and Adrien were panicking. The heroine in disguise dropped the piping bag on a nearby counter and rushed over to calm the customers.

"Please calm down! The bakery isn't safe! I need all of you to leave and find somewhere safe to stay until the attack is over!" Adrien was slightly confused as to why the bakery wasn't safe, but he wasn't complaining. The boy needed to transform, and quick.

A couple of minutes later, the customers had all left and Adrien and Marinette were trying to come up with a way to transform without letting the other know.

"Adrien, can you stay down here and make sure all the doors and windows are locked? I'm gonna go upstairs and do the same. And, uhh, I may not come down right away, there's a couple of other 'things' I need to do. So…. just stay down here okay?"

"Alright, be safe!" Well that was lucky. What a coincidence.

Ladybug swung onto her balcony and collapsed on her bed after practically falling through the hatch. She was exhausted, but the second she detransformed, Marinette placed Tikki on the bed and threw a few stray cookies toward the kwami as she booked it downstairs. Adrien was probably worried sick. Was he even alright? But as she flew down the stairs, Marinette was greeted with a smiling Adrien. But for some reason, he looked as if he had just run across town and back.

"Ahh! I'm sorry I took so long, are you alright Adrien?!"

"Yeah yeah, you?"

"Yup, I'm fine. Okay, good. Phew…" Though Marinette had said she was fine, Adrien didn't fully believe her. He had started to notice that she could be stubborn sometimes, and she never wanted anyone to worry about her. But the girl was tired, he could plainly see that.

"Hey Mari you look a bit flustered, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yup yep, doing great. I'm just a bit tired." As she spoke, Marinette's eyes strayed toward the clock and she gasped. "Oh no, it's so late! I need to finish that cake!"

Marinette ran around Adrien to grab the piping bag, but the second her hand made contact with the bag, another hand landed on top of her own. She looked up at Adrien's face, and Marinette was surprised to see it full of concern and worry.

"Marinette, you're exhausted. You need to rest. Let me take care of the cake. And I promise I won't mess this one up."

The girl stood there stunned for a second. Adrien was still 'holding' her hand. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, but she really wasn't. Adrien was right. She needed to rest, she needed sleep. But they were just so close. And now he really was holding her hand. His eyes still held that concerned look, but there was something more behind that first layer of emotion. Though she didn't believe it, Marinette thought it might have been love.

"You're right Adrien, I'll get some rest, f-for you." The boy smiled fondly at her and quietly chuckled a bit. Marinette couldn't deny it anymore. Adrien cared for her. He really, truly cared. That look in his gorgeous eyes confirmed it all. And of course Marinette cared about him too. It was strange to think that they had only really known each other for a few days. To Marinette, it felt like Adrien and her had been friends for years.

She didn't know when she had grabbed his other hand, but Marinette could feel the warmth emanating from their entwined fingers. With the last specks of light filtering through the window, Adrien's face shone like the moon. Somehow, he looked even more handsome than any of the pictures spread throughout the designer's room. His eyes were sparkling and his smile was endearing. It felt almost magical. Would she chance it? Try, maybe, a kiss? Marinette slowly rose to the tip of her toes and leaned her face forward. Her eyes closed as she felt the air between the two shrink. Would she finally get her dream?

BANG.

"Marinette, we're home!"

No. No she would not.

 **[Thank you all so much for reading this far! I do plan on writing more but the next chapter may be a bit late since I'm taking the ACT in a few days and i need time to study. I hope you've enjoyed this and thank you for the fantastic reviews!]**


	5. Chapter 5

**[Thank you all so much for the sweet comments and for wishing me luck on the ACT (it went really well!). Hope you all enjoy this chapter, there will be more!]**

Chapter 5

Adrien and Marinette leapt away from each other at the sudden noise, both with startling blushes spreading across their faces. Neither had expected Marinette's parents to come home so soon, but that's not to say they weren't (somewhat) glad.

The two didn't even have time to process what had happened when Marinette's dad vaulted into the room. Upon spotting his daughter, he rushed forward and smothered her in a giant bear hug.

"Maribear! You're alright! Oh we're back Mari, we're finally back!"

"Dad I can't breathe." Tom jumped back in surprise and smiled guiltily, only to place his large hands on her petite shoulders.

"Sorry about that Mari, it's just great to be home again!" Behind her father's immense figure, Marinette could just see her mother enter the shop with a delighted smile on her face.

"Mom!" She yelled. Sabine laughed out loud at the sight of her daughter and did her best to smother her in a hug as well. Tom immediately jumped right back into the hug. The two parents held their child and Adrien had no idea what to do. He had just been standing awkwardly to the side, trying to tame his raging blush.

He didn't really know what to think of the situation, but he was still extremely happy for his friend. Adrien still couldn't believe that he had been just about to kiss Marinette. What was he thinking? What if she didn't want to kiss him? The model could not stop thinking about her. However, he was almost grateful that her parents had arrived, because he had no idea what would have happened if he'd gone through with it. She had just looked so pretty, with the sunlight glittering in her eyes, and her hair sparkling like the night sky a-.

"Marinette, who's this?" He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that Adrien nearly jumped when his friend's mother spoke. He hadn't expected to be noticed so quickly.

"Oh, mom, dad. This is Adrien. He goes to school with me, and he was kind enough to offer his help while you two were gone."

Marinette's father laughed out loud and Adrien didn't know whether to be scared or overjoyed.

"That's great! Good on you Adrien! Come 'ere kiddo!" The boy's figure was immediately engulfed by Tom as he was pulled into a hug not unlike the one Mari had just received. Adrien was stunned. He'd received more hugs this week than he had in years. But with a hug count of zero, it wasn't hard to beat. Despite the size of the hug, it wasn't soundproof, seeing as Adrien could still hear Mari and her mom talking from a few feet away.

"Mari dear, isn't this the boy you've told us so much about? The one in all those pictures in your roo-"

"SSHHHHhhhhh! Mom he's right there." She hissed. Adrien felt himself blush a bit at their conversation. It was kinda cool that Mari's parents already knew about him. And it was even cooler to know that Marinette cared enough to to tell her parents about him before they had even really met.

It was too soon when Tom finally let go. But then the man smiled proudly at the boy as if he were his own son (which Adrien would be happy to be). And Adrien, of course, smiled back. It was as if he had known this man for years, even if they had only met just two minutes ago.

"Oh Mari sweetie, you and your friend look exhausted. How about the two of you relax upstairs while Tom and I finish up down here?" Marinette looked appalled at the suggestion.

"But Mom, you just got back!"

"We had time to rest on the plane dear, now go. Go and hang out with your 'friend'." By now Sabine was attempting to push Marinette upstairs, but the girl refused to go rest while her parents had to work. Though after a few minutes of gentle persuasion, the stubborn girl finally gave in and led Adrien upstairs.

They then entered the cozy living room and both flopped down onto the empty couch with a loud, simultaneous sigh. The two looked at each other and couldn't stop the laughter escaping their mouths. It wasn't long before they were laughing just for the sake of laughing. But after a few minutes, the two were finally able to calm down enough to to speak somewhat clearly.

"So, what did you want to do Adrien?"

"I dunno, what did you want to do?"

"Adrien, you're the guest, so you have to choose."

"Aww, you're so cruel Mari. Okay, how about we watch a movie? I don't think I'm awake enough to do anything else."

"Sure. What movie?"

"I chose the activity Mari, now you gotta choose the movie. I don't even know what movies you have."

"Okay fair enough." Marinette slowly slid off the couch and dragged herself over to her family's movie collection while Adrien tried to hide his laughter. To him it looked as if Mari was sliding across the floor like a snake.

"Mari I'm sorry, but you look really funny."

"I know." Marinette smiled to herself to hide her growing blush as she browsed through the movies. It wasn't long before one caught her eye. "Hey, what would you say to watching Tangled?"

"What?"

"Tangled, you know, the Rapunzel movie."

"Sorry, but I don't think I've seen it. It is good?"

"Of course, it's one of my favorites movies."

"Then let's do that." Marinette immediately started scooting toward their DVD player, and once the movie was ready, she scooted back to the giggling Adrien and jumped up right next to him. She nearly expected him to scoot away, but her heart fluttered as she felt him scoot slightly closer.

"Okay you're gonna love this!" As the movie began, Adrien was sure he would love it. Especially if Marinette enjoyed it. Then, he heard the opening line.

" _This is the story of how I died."_

"W-what?! No-"

"Ssshhhh, just wait."

" _Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story, and the truth is, it isn't even mine…"_ Adrien sighed in relief. He didn't even know who this character was, but he definitely didn't want to see him die. Though Marinette seemed calm enough. Maybe he wouldn't really die. It was a Disney movie after all.

As the movie began, the two sat side by side, making little comments here and there, but mostly watching the movie. Just ten minutes in and Adrien was absorbed in the story. He hadn't gotten to watch many Disney movies at home (his father said they were a bad influence), so the whole experience was new to him.

He watched in awe as Rapunzel and Flynn first met, and how they journeyed together to see the floating lights. He loved seeing the two grow closer, almost like how he and Marinette had grown closer that past week. And when they had finally made it to the floating lights, he started to quietly sing along to the "I See The Light" song.

" _All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you…._ " As he spoke those last few words, Adrien looked over at Marinette to find her asleep. What was even more surprising, was that her head now rested on his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed. It just felt so...natural. He wouldn't dare wake the girl up when she looked so peaceful though. So he decided to finish watching the movie.

The second his eyes met the screen, Adrien was absorbed in the story yet again. He gasped and laughed, and nearly cried. By the time the film was ending, he had claimed it as his favorite movie of all time. And as the closing credits scrolled down, Adrien yawned. He hadn't even realized how tired he was. Maybe he would just lie down for a few minutes, just a short nap before he would head home…

Half an hour later, Tom and Sabine made their way upstairs to find their daughter cuddled up next to Adrien. The two sighed in a loving manner, and Sabine made sure to snap a few pictures before they were forced to ruin the moment. Tom carefully picked up his daughter and carried her upstairs, while Sabine gently shook Adrien awake. After a few minutes, the still half-asleep teenager was led downstairs as he continued to try and wake himself up. Once he could finally comprehend what Sabine was saying, he turned down her offer of walking him home, and insisted he go on his own.

Still partially asleep, Adrien left the bakery and entered a nearby alleyway to transform. Plagg may have said something about him crushing on a girl, but the boy couldn't be sure. The kwami was in his miraculous before he could say another word.

After transforming, Cat Noir lazily jumped from building to building as he made his way home. The whole day had felt like a dream. Even more so when he could barely stay awake. He couldn't believe his luck lately. Maybe he had Marinette to thank for that. She was probably lucky or something. His lucky charm. The cat couldn't help but smile. He had two lucky ladies now; two great, talented _furr_ ends. Maybe he could introduce the two sometime. He had a _feline_ that they would get along _purr_ fectly. Cat laughed out loud as he soared through the air. He hadn't had enough puns today. And he had been working in a bakery for goodness _bake_. There were dozens of bakery puns he could have thrown out there.

Adrien sighed. He still didn't know how to describe his day. Fun, _paw_ esome, terrific? No. None of those words really worked,because it had been so much more. _Purr_ fect? Magical? Magical. That was the word. And it didn't just describe his day, it mostly described her. Lucky Marinette, with her _purr_ fectly magical personality. He couldn't help but sigh at how great she was.

Once Cat swung into his bedroom, he was finally able to look in the mirror and see a magical grin plastered across his face. And when he detransformed back into Adrien, that smile stayed. It stayed as he let himself flop onto the waiting bed, and the next morning, he could still see traces of the smile sparkling in his eyes.

"Okay Mari spill it. I saw you and Adrien at the bakery together, what's been going on?"

"N-nothing Alya, he's just been helping out." The blogger groaned and rolled her eyes at the incomplete answer. She couldn't wait any longer, and they only had a few minutes before class would start. "Wait how did you see us at the bakery? Alya were you spying on me?"

"Of course I was spying on you, you're my best friend I gotta keep an eye on you. Now fess up, this is our last class of the day."

"Okay, okay, i'll tell you. The truth is that my parents have been out of town for a couple weeks, so I've been working the bakery on my own-"

"WHAT?!" The blogger stood with a start and nearly hopped onto her chair.

"Alya ssshhhh, let me explai-"

"NO I WON'T SSSSHHHHH, WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME CHILD?!"

"Alya, sit down, everyone's listening now, pleeeeaase-"

"Umm, what's going on?" Marinette turned. It was Adrien. He could save her from her fuming friend.

"Adrien, thank goodness. Could you help me with Alya? I kinda just told her about the bakery and stuff."

"Oh, that explains it." The boy then turned his attention to Alya. Adrien had no idea why, but she was now gaping at her friend rather than scolding her. Though he figured the latter was a better alternative. He briskly walked over to her and gently pushed the girl back into her seat, surprisingly with no resistance.

"Thanks Adrien." Marinette said. "Wait, why is everyone staring at us…." All of the gaping faces in the room immediately looked away before the model had a chance to turn around. Marinette had no idea why they were staring though. It wasn't as if the whole class knew about their adventures in the bakery. Right?

That thought was quickly lost as the teacher entered and the class settled down. Alya was still too stunned to ask any more questions, so Mari got off easy that day.

The rest of the class went by fairly normally. Their teacher taught while the students 'listened', and the two lovebirds passed notes. Well, anyone other than the two would describe it that way.

'Hey Mari, do you want to start fencing today, or is it too soon?' Marinette smiled at the note and made sure to write a quick reply.

'Yes, I would love to start fencing. And don't worry, I got plenty of sleep last night. :)' Though Adrien couldn't see it, while reading the note he was smiling as if he'd just gotten a yes to a proposed date (which wasn't far from the truth). Before that smile could vanish, he wrote his response back gleefully.

'Sweet! We can walk there together after class if you want. My instructor can get everything ready for us and then we'll have the gym to ourselves. That sound good?' He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

'Yes! That'd be great! Plan on that 3"

Marinette was jolted back to reality with the sound of a deep, gravelly voice penetrating her eardrums.

"Adrien, do you and your 'friend' have everything you need for this session?"

"Yes Mr. D'Argencourt. Thank you so much for letting us use the equipment."

"Of course Adrien, it's my pleasure." Mr D'Argencourt smiled at his pupil and swiftly left the gym with a soft click of the door behind him. Marinette stood awkwardly to the side and wondered how in the world she would manage fencing. It was true that her experience as Ladybug could help her, but still, fencing was entirely new to her. She really hoped that Adrien would be a good teacher.

"Okay Marinette, you ready to fence?!"

"Mmmhhmm!" Adrien smiled and skipped over to the lockers where they kept the fencing equipment. He pulled out a large, white suit which he handed to Marinette.

"Here, this should fit you. Umm the girl's locker room is over there. My stuff's in my locker, soooo, I'll be right back!" Adrien ran off in the opposite direction while Mari spun on her heel to go get changed.

A few minutes later, the two white clad teenagers entered the room, one looking ready to fight, and the other, very confused.

"Adrien, how in the world are we supposed to fence in these things?"

"I don't know, it kinda just happens…"

"Okay, that helps a lot. So… now what?"

"We need to get you a foil."

"Foil? Like tin foil?"

"No, a foil is what you use to fence. It's the sword looking thing." Marinette's face dawned with realization, but she also looked a bit crestfallen that she had been wrong. So Adrien took a step toward her and whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Don't worry, I thought the same thing when I started." The designer laughed quietly to herself and looked up at Adrien sweetly, while he smiled down at her with something resembling adoration.

"So do I just stab people with the foil or what?" Adrien laughed out loud and was tempted to just say yes, but if he was going to teach Mari fencing, he was going to do it right. He started by telling her the several safety precautions he had been taught for years. Of course he wanted to start right away, but he wouldn't take any chances with Marinette's safety at stake. The girl listened intently to the list of rules she would need to follow, and Adrien was sure she wouldn't break them. They added in a few jokes here and there to lighten the mood, but the fun really started once the fencing did.

Adrien would step back and show his friend how to perform the move, while she would then try it on her own. Most of the time, she picked it up pretty quickly, but here and there Adrien would step in to straighten her arm or tell her to change her stance. She never complained when he helped her, in fact Adrien was sure he saw her blushing a few times. It was cute to say the least.

Just for the fun of it, Adrien had decided to show Mari a new move he had learned in the past few months. It had taken a while for him to perfect it, so he was surprised when the designer asked if she could try it as well. The move wasn't particularly difficult, but it required precision and timing. The first few tries were a disaster, and looked nothing like the final result. But after giving her a few more pointers, Mari was eventually able to perform the move, even if it was anything but graceful. The girl jumped up and down once she had finally done it, and the look on her face nearly made Adrien swoon. She was just so happy, so full of joy and kindness and it was absolutely beautiful. And of course she immediately insisted on trying it again, and Adrien let her. But this time, Marinette's excitement got ahead of her. After taking a small step backwards, her foot caught on the hem of her outfit, causing her to trip backwards. But Adrien wasn't going to let her hit the floor. He was by her side in a second, catching her in the most romantic way possible, which caused the both of them to blush furiously. The boy tried smiling to hide the blush, but it only made it worse.

Adrien's face was only inches above Mari's, and to any bystander, they would probably look to be dancing. He was holding her tiny waist as if letting her into a graceful dip. They were so close. Adrien could feel the girl's breath flowing along his cheeks, breath smelling of vanilla and sweetness. She was staring into his eyes with her own glowing, sapphire-like orbs. It strangely felt like their moment the night before. He had been so close then, it had been so… peaceful. But now, the room was silent. Only their quiet breaths and the soft thump of their hearts beating in their chests broke the silence. Maybe he could try. Maybe, just maybe, this moment would be it. The moment he would see if they were meant to be.

He slowly, excruciatingly slowly, closed the gap. He only dared close his eyes once he saw the girl's face start to inch closer as well. Adrien didn't know what to think, what to expect. But as his lips met hers, he smiled. Little did he know that he was making that girl's dream come true.


	6. Chapter 6

[I finally finished! Hope you all like it! Thank you so much for your patience and support! Stay tuned for the last chapter!]

Chapter 6

Marinette's mind was reeling. She was kissing Adrien. Adrien! The love of her life! Or was he kissing her? She didn't really know, but she didn't care either. None of her imaginings had lived up this moment. But now that she was here, she realized they never would. It was greater than she had ever thought it could be. Her dream, her kiss...it was perfect.

Though perfect wasn't the right word for it. Marinette felt that it was something more, something almost magical… And not just the kiss, Adrien himself was magical. The whole room felt like an endless amount of the magical true love, said only to be found in fairytales. And Marinette felt like she was in a fairytale. She had finally met her prince, her one true love. She couldn't be happier. She wanted time to stop, to save that magical moment for all eternity.

But Adrien, being the gentleman he was, ended the kiss all to early. He pulled back slowly, somewhat reluctantly, but respectfully as well. However, that didn't end the moment. Once Mari could feel the air reach her lips, she opened her eyes to see Adrien's staring into her own. Those emerald green spheres were looking at her with something akin to admiration. And all Marinette could do was watch in awe. Adrien's face still so close to her own. So warm and kind and, magical. She could still feel his breath fall lightly on her cheek. And the imprint of their kiss was still left on her lips.

In the distance a pair of snooping teens screamed with joy, but the two lovers were too entranced to notice. Sadly, with every second, the moment slipped. Bit by bit. As their blushes grew, their realization of what had just occurred grew more and more prominent. Adrien nearly dropped Mari once he finally processed their situation. But instead, he briskly brought the girl to her feet and tried his best to avoid eye contact. Yet somehow, that was impossible in their current situation.

"U-uhhh, I-i think we're d-done practicing t-today M-m-mari…"

"Y-yeah… I'm gonna go, uh, get clothes-dressed. Get dressed. Yes…" Mari turned and booked it to the locker room before their awkwardness could get any more awkward. At the same time, Adrien stood with shock, excitement, and who knows what else written on his face. Even so, it took a couple of minutes for his mind to catch up so he could make his way to his own locker to get changed.

Marinette slammed the door and slumped to the floor as she entered. The girl sat with deep breaths coming in and out, in and out. All she could do was focus on breathing. Then, a silent scream escaped her soul as her friendly, red kwami flew into view. The designer attempted to say something along the lines of, 'I just kissed Adrien!', but it came out more like, "A-a-a-adrien. L-lips. Mwuah….."

Tikki giggled at that and flew over to Marinette to land gently on the girl's shoulder.

"Oh Marinette, you finally got your dream! I'm just so proud of you right now. Isn't this great?"

"T-thanks Tikki. And you're right that was my dream… But now what? What do I do now? I mean, I just kissed Adrien. I don't know Tikki I don't - What do you even do after you kiss your crush?"

"Come on Mari, weren't you listening to that movie last night? Find a new dream." Find a new - oh... Marinette hadn't really thought about that. She had slept through most of the movie, but the line was still very familiar.

"A new dream…" She had it. Marinette knew exactly what it was. It had been there all along, just waiting to burst into existence. The most simple yet amazing dream she could think of. To fall in love, to really truly fall in love with the boy of her dreams. One could argue that she was already in love, but deep down, Marinette knew there was so much more. There was still so much she didn't know about him. She wanted to find out his favorite ice cream flavor, where he liked to spend his free time, his favorite pastry (so she could make him dozens, no hundreds), and even what lock of his hair she liked best.

"Okay, thanks Tikki. That really helped. I'll be okay now, you're the greatest." After her talk with Tikki, Mari was finally able to stand up and get dressed without collapsing more than once. She then grabbed the now empty suit and stood by the door to the gym. She stood there, staring at the door like she could make it disappear just by looking at it. Once she walked through that door, she would face Adrien. No going back now.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Adrien was twirling in the locker room.

"Adrie-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhh….." Now he was twirling slower.

"Adrien why are you screaming-"

"I-i just kissed a girl Plagg!" The twirling stopped.

"A cute one at that." The kwami mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing, now why are you freaking out? I thought you humans loved smooching each other." Adrien looked like he was about to pound his kwami into the wall, but he simply didn't have the strength. He settled with a deadly glare that gave Plagg goosebumps.

"Y-yeah I guess you could put it that way... But this was different. I mean, what if she didn't even want to kiss me? What if she's terrified of me now? I just, I don't, I haven't ever kissed a girl before…"

"Adrien, Adrien. She was speechless not scared. Now pull yourself together! She gonna be out there, waiting for you forever if you don't man up and deal with this! You kissed her, so what? I bet she liked it anyway. Now go out there, and talk to her. She's your friend right? You two are probably more in love than you think."

Adrien was a bit shocked at the intensity of Plagg's lecture, but it worked nonetheless. The model was out of his suit and into his casual clothes before the kwami could say another word.

Though he wouldn't say it, Adrien was extremely grateful for his kwami's 'advice'. He didn't think he would have the guts to go back out there without it. He would probably still be screaming like a maniac if it wasn't for Plagg. Wow, that was a weird thing to say. Plagg and helpful just didn't go together. But right now he needed to talk to Mari. Now that he thought about it, Mari was probably freaking out all on her own. She didn't have a somewhat supportive kwami to help her like he did…

And that was all the model needed to bolt out the door that second. Only to be faced with an adorably tentative Marinette entering from the other side of the gym. It was true the girl looked somewhat scared, but she also looked to be full of hope. Just like him. And as soon as their eyes met, the two smiled and half ran half skipped to the center of the room.

Marinette's face was plastered with the endearing blush she always wore, and it made Adrien all the more happy to be there, with her. Yet that's not to say he wasn't surprised at what the girl said next.

"Would you want to come hang out at my house today?"

"Uhh…" _Yes yES YES!_ But sadly, that moment was the moment that Adrien Agreste forgot how to speak. No, not speaking. Just the language. How did one speak English again?

"B-but not if you don't want to of course! I just thought it might be fun to just hang out and stuff rather than just working all the time…"

"Uhh, shì de, shì de, wǒ yào guàle…." What was he thinking? Chinese? What happened to his English? _Aaaaahhhh._

"W-what?"

"S-sorry, my Chinese just slipped out. Yes, I do want to hang out. That'd be great." Adrien was relieved. He could speak again, maybe...

"Okay, great!" Adrien caught the small giggle that escaped Mari's lips, and he couldn't help but laugh along himself.

"So would now be alright? To go to my house I mean."

"Yeah, yeah sure. Let's go." The two smiled at each other while they left the gym. And they were smiling as they walked to the bakery together, side by side. With hands not quite touching, but brushing the other as they walked.

"Yes. Yes! YES! I-I did it! Mari I won! Woohoo!" Marinette laughed to herself as Adrien cheered wildly. They had been playing Ultimate Mega Strike 3 for at least an hour by now, and both had been enjoying every minute. Marinette had of course been teaching Adrien all the tips and tricks she had learned from playing with her dad, and it helped him greatly to say the least. Marinette could see her friend improving with each round they played. It was easiest to see his improvement when she finally lost their last round.

The designer was in no way happy to lose, but she was overjoyed to see Adrien win. His face when he won was full of joy and excitement. It made the girl almost want to lose just so she could see his face. Just so she could smile at his accomplishment.

It took a couple of minutes for Adrien to settle down, and perhaps a small nudge from his kwami, but all in all, the two were happy. They were playing video games, making jokes, and laughing up a storm. It was spectacular. Little did they know that their day was about to get even better.

Downstairs, Sabine and Tom had been plotting. When the boy your daughter almost kissed the night before came back, you had a plan. It all started that morning when Marinette had mentioned that Adrien had made one of the cakes on display. Sabine made sure to save it immediately. Tom then called up some of Adrien's close friends and family to discover the boy's favorite meal. And lastly, Sabine sent Mari a text to see if she would invite the model over for the evening. Mari didn't actually see the text until after asking Adrien, but Sabine wasn't going to complain, seeing as her plan still worked out in the end.

Once they had everything in place, the scheming parents closed the shop early to have time to make their best meal yet. All the while, the two teens played upstairs, oblivious to the plot happening beneath their feet.

"Mari dear! Can you come help me for a second?!"

"Yeah mom, be right there! You should try and beat my score before I get back kay?"

"Will do, 'Mari dear'." Marinette huffed playfully at the nickname Adrien was mocking, but inside she was screaming. All the way downstairs, her thoughts were full of 'Mari dear' and Adrien. However, once she found her parents all those thoughts left her. One word. Food.

"Mom… What's this? What did you do?"

"Well sweetie, Tom and I figured that we would thank you and Adrien for all your hard work by baking this meal for you! Why don't you go get Adrien so we can eat. And don't worry about his father, Tom already spoke with him and he's completely fine with it."

"B-b-but mom-"

"Hush hush child, go get your friend."

"Okay okay just don't make him eat all of it!" Mari swiftly ran up the stairs before her mother started to physically push her along. She was kinda shocked that her parents had planned all of this, but definitely not surprised. This was exactly the kind of thing her parents would do, and now that they had already made the meal, she had no choice but to go through with it.

She opened the hatch to her room to be greeted with an enthusiastic Adrien, standing on the swivel chair, and shoving his pointer finger into the controller, repeatedly. She was surprised he hadn't set it on fire by now. The chair was slowly spinning as he played and it looked ridiculous. As the chair turned, Adrien tilted his head upside down to see the screen and Marinette was sure he would fall over soon.

"Oh oh OH! MARI I'M SO CLOSE! LOOK LOOK LOOK! NO. NoNOnoNOnonOOOOO!"

*CRASH*

"Adrien! Oh my gosh are you okay?!" Of course, he had fallen. Though Marinette couldn't help but laugh as Adrien tumbled 'gracefully' from the chair, holding the controller with a death grip the whole way down. Looking at the computer screen, she saw that he was only seven points away from her high score. Better to get him downstairs before he saw that.

"Probably. Yeah, I'm alive."

"Well, are you alive enough for dinner?"

"What?"

"Sorry to just push it on you like this, but my parents kinda made dinner for us. They can be kind of, tricky at times. I hope that's alright though."

"Alright? That's amazing! I-i would love to have dinner with you guys! Thank you! Oh, I'll have to check with my father firs-"

"Taken care of." Adrien was beaming. He had completely forgotten about the game by now, even if he still happened to be clutching the controller. Though he soon dropped it as Marinette offered her hand to help him up. He graciously took it, and was very surprised at how easily she pulled him up. The model had to step back to avoid falling on top of her. They then started walking downstairs together, and Adrien realized he was still holding Mari's hand. She hadn't let go, and neither had he. He stared at their entwined hands as they bounced down the stairway, and only let go once he saw his friend's parents seemingly appear out of nowhere.

And then, he was gaping. Spread across the table were a variety of foods Adrien had eaten and loved as a child. There were several soups, crepes, baguettes, croissants, and even eclairs; each with a wide range of choices. He also recognized several recipies that his mother had used before she disappeared. And the smell of the room was heavenly to say the least.

"T-this is wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, but I can't possibly accept this. You've already done so much-" And suddenly, without any warning, Tom was by his side. Or rather, in his face.

"Nonsense Adrien! We should be thanking you! This is the least we can do!" Adrien settled with a small nod and concluded that yes, he was getting a real meal. Real food, with a real family. He didn't have to be alone tonight.

Adrien felt amazing. He had spent the last hour eating dinner with the wonderful Dupain-Chengs, and he loved every minute of it. Not only was he eating with other people for once, but the room wasn't dead silent. Far from it actually. It was incredible how much noise four people could make when placed at the same dinner table. For example, when Marinette had slurped her soup just a bit too loudly, Tom picked his up and slurped it as loud as he could. And Tom being who he was, it was pretty loud. Sabine then joined in the fun and Adrien couldn't help but follow along as well.

There were a few other situations very similar to what they now referred to as 'The Soup Incident', but other than that, they mostly kept up conversations with puns. Sabine and Marinette mostly groaned quietly and hid their laughing faces, but Tom and Adrien could go on for ages. Though after about 20 minutes of the intense pun-off, Sabine decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay enough puns you two. Now, are you all _bready_ for dessert?"

"Mom!"

"Sorry dear it just slipped out." Unfortunately, no one noticed Tom gasp in delight at the wonderful pun his wife made. Or the manly tear that fell down his cheek to signify his pride for her.

Sabine decided to take the awkward silence as a 'yes' and went to fetch the dessert from the fridge immediately.

But once she held the cake in her hands, Adrien felt himself gasp in shock yet again. It was chocolate cake. But not just any cake. It was his. The cake he had made his first day helping Mari. The one he had made after being covered in flour. He immediately recognized the twirling strands of frosting he had tried to make look elegant, and the small spots of frosting where he had covered up his mistakes. It in no way looked perfect, but it was still made well. He remembered putting it on display and thinking it would never be bought and eventually thrown out. He was a bit crestfallen that no one had bought it, but he was still happy to see it looking just as delicious as the day it was baked.

"Mom is that Adrien's cake?"

"Yup, I made sure to save it for tonight. Now we can taste Adrien's brilliant cooking!" Adrien desperately hoped he had made the cake right. He couldn't even remember what he had put in. Part of him wished he could un-bake the cake and un-mix it right then to make sure he got it right. But it was too late now.

Sabine took a knife to the cake and cut out portions for the four of them. She set them on plates which she then dished out to everyone. Just by looking at the cake, Adrien could tell it was gooey, yet fluffy, and very, very chocolatey. He tried just a small bite in case he had made it poisonous or something, but was stunned to find it tasting, great. It wasn't perfect at all, but it still tasted like cake; like good, chocolate cake.

"Adrien this is really good!" The model blushed at Mari's compliment and looked down. He honestly didn't expect himself to actually be good at something he enjoyed."

"Thanks Mari, you were the one who taught me though." Marinette giggled softly, and to Adrien's surprise, she threw her arms around him in a comforting hug. He immediately returned the hug, and smiled gratefully at his friend. He was baffled at how Mari had seemed to know how much he needed that hug then, but he accepted it nonetheless. Tom and Sabine watched happily, perhaps taking a few photos here and there for their future wedding. Which of course they already planned out as well.

After the hug, Adrien stayed for another hour before he realized what time it was. He sadly explained that he needed to return home, but not without the family making him promise to join them the next night as well. However, he did ask Sabine if he could take a slice of cake home for a friend of his. Sabine of course replied with a yes and sent the boy home with not one, but two slices of cake to keep. He then made sure to gather his things before the model walked out the door with a joyful Marinette waving goodbye behind him. He cheerfully waved back, keeping the promise of a return to the happy home close to his heart.

Marinette skipped happily up to her room after helping her mother clean up. She was thrilled, elated, and ecstatic that she would get to see Adrien again tomorrow. She didn't feel she could wait a whole day. It was just too long. But wait she would, because every second with Adrien was worth a lifetime. The girl went straight for her bed, but was stopped by a frantic kwami flying in her face.

"Marinette! Cat Noir's been calling you for the past few minutes! I think it's urgent!" The designer nodded as she felt her face change from the elated Marinette to the more serious Ladybug. Her transformation took only seconds, and the heroine made it to her balcony just as it ended. She flipped her compact open, prepared for the worst.

"Cat are you okay? Did something happen?" Her kitty seemed to laugh at the intensity of her voice, for he looked anything but urgent.

"I'm fine my lady, and nothing happened. Well, nothing bad anyway. Sorry if I sounded urgent, I was just hoping we could meet up. I happen to have a gift for you!"

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything kitty. But, yes I can meet up if you want. Where?"

"Just at the start of our patrol, I'll be waiting for you Bugaboo."

"Okay, but call me Bugaboo again and I won't come."

"Hurry up Buga-" Ladybug snapped her compact shut and smirked at Cat's attempt at flirting. She had no idea what to expect from Cat, maybe he would _purrpose_ or something. But after the great day she had, she figured it could only get better.

Seconds later, the heroine was swinging from building to building. Their patrol route wasn't far from her house, so five minutes later she landed next to a blissful Cat with hands held behind his back.

As Ladybug landed she said nothing and waited patiently for Cat to explain. He shifted from foot to foot with his eyes looking anywhere but her. Ladybug only smiled and quietly encouraged Cat to say whatever he was going to say. He must have heard the silent encouragement, because the next second he was looking up at his lady with determination flashing in his eyes. He also took his hands out from behind his back and presented a small tupperware container for her to see.

"Ladybug, I-i made this cake here and I thought you might like it. My friend liked it so I was sure you would too. W-would you like a piece?" Marinette found it slightly strange that both Cat and Adrien had been baking cakes, but she let the thought pass. She hadn't known Cat to be this nervous around her, so obviously this cake was a big thing.

"I would love a piece you silly kitty. I'm sure you're a wonderful cook." That did it. Cat was elated and his ears popped up with joy. He quickly plopped to the ground, motioning for Ladybug to do the same, and opened the container to find two pieces of chocolate cake awaiting consumption. Ladybug was stunned. The cake looked exactly like the one she had eaten just an hour earlier. But it couldn't possibly be the same cake. They were made by two completely different people. It was probably just the same recipe…

Cat took one piece using a plastic fork and set it on the container's lid for himself. He then gave Ladybug the piece still in the container with another plastic fork to go with it. His face held so many emotions that Ladybug couldn't place what was there. She saw joy, fear, hope, wariness, happiness, and several other emotions she couldn't identify. So the heroine did what she did best. She smiled. Cat immediately relaxed his tense muscles, and Ladybug took the cake that had been handed to her.

While looking down at her cake, she noticed Cat watching her. He was probably waiting for her approval. Ladybug couldn't help but think it to be kinda cute. So she took her fork, and stuck a piece of cake into her smiling mouth. What followed next was confusing to say the least. The taste was amazing, a mixture of fluff and gooey goodness, absolutely full of chocolate. It was mouthwateringly good, but not new. No, not new at all. It had a certain air of familiarity about it that couldn't be ignored. Marinette wanted to believe it had just been a coincidence, but she couldn't deny it anymore. With a small swallow she looked up at the cat sitting before her. He was waiting expectantly with his emerald green eyes. Eyes she had seen up close. Eyes she remembered. It was all there. His eyes, his hair, his lips… It was him.

"A-adrien?"


	7. Chapter 7

**[Hey guys i finally finished! This is the last chapter of Chocolate Cake and i hope you all enjoy! Thank you so much for sticking with me and for being so patient with me! :3]**

Chapter 7

Adrien was terrified. He was sure he had been mistaken, but he thought he had just heard his name, his real name, escape his lady's lips. Deep down he knew what she had said, but he didn't want to accept it. It was impossible. It had to be! Because if Ladybug could deduce _his_ identity from eating _his_ cake, there was only one person she could be. One person, one girl who had tasted and loved his cake only an hour earlier. But how could that be?! Ladybug? Marinette? Who was who? How could they be one in the same?

But of course. He knew how. Adrien had seen the signs but refused to acknowledge it. Her appearance was a dead giveaway. They looked identical, how had he not known? But her personality. Ladybug's strong and confident side was plainly seen in Marinette when she stood up for what was right. And Marinette's sweet kindness was all too clear in the loving heroine. It was so obvious. And she was right here. Sitting directly across from him with an unmistakable expression of disbelief. She was probably having a very similar conversation with herself now that he thought about it. But, what was she thinking. Was she thinking about him? About him being Cat Noir and Adrien all at once? What if she hated him? What if she ran and wanted nothing to do with him anymore? She looked astonished, yet terrified at the same time. Would she even accept him how he was? Could she?

Cat felt his hand move to the ground, ready to jump and run if things went south. Ladybug watched his hand and her eyes grew even wider than they already were. He couldn't decide what emotions were running through her mind. He didn't know how she had chosen to see their situation. He desperately hoped she would be okay, that they would be okay.

"Adrien…" He tensed, ready to run yet hoping he wouldn't have to.

"Y-yeah...M-mari-i…" The hero berated himself for stuttering so much. He honestly didn't know why he was so nervous. Yeah they had just figured out their identities after months of wondering, but was that a bad thing? Of all the people Ladybug could have been, she was Marinette. The sweet, fantastically magical girl he was falling in love with. The girl who sat behind him in class, too kind to ask for help when she desperately needed it. The girl who had stolen his first kiss, and unknowingly, his heart.

"It's you…" Cat was stunned to finally hear her voice again. Her _purr_ fect voice full of sincerity and hope. And at the same time, he noticed she no longer looked quite as terrified.

"It's _mew_ …" And then, all of a sudden, the calm, pondering face of his lady contorted into a fit of giggles which she tried to hide with her gloved hands. It was enchanting.

"Well Adrien, now I know where all those puns at dinner came from." Adrien smiled and felt himself relax. At least they could still joke a bit. He was relieved that their accidental reveal had gone...somewhat well.

"Yeah, so...Umm, M-mari. What do you think of all this? Are we...okay?" When Ladybug didn't respond right away, Adrien panicked. But yet again, the panic left at the sound of Mari's soothing voice.

"Yes, I'm okay. And I think we will be too. Umm...A-are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I will be. As long as umm, we can still hang out and stuff, maybe?"

"O-of course, if you want, yes. I just don't want to lose my two best friends…" That sold it for Adrien. Not only was Cat her best friend, but so was Adrien. Plain old goofy Adrien...

"Yeah me neither. But I think I need some time to think and stuff...So…"

"Oh yeah, me too...Umm, since tomorrow's a Saturday, would you want to come over? We could talk about everything or just hangout...whatever you want!"

"Y-yes! That'd be great! I guess i'll see you then Mari!"

"S-see you!" The heroes finally stood, only then realizing they had hardly touched the cake. After a short, awkward conversation, the two decided to just take them home. And if Adrien took part of the tupperware, he would have an excuse to come back the next day.

The two then turned and parted ways, but as Cat reached the edge of the roof, he turned. Ladybug was still there, staring off into the distance with her back to him. She looked spectacular. And knowing that his lady was Marinette just made her so much prettier. So much more...magical.

"Ladybug?" At the sound of her name, the heroine turned. Her curious blue eyes watching, waiting for her Cat to speak. And then he did. Conveying everything he felt into those four, simple words. "I'm glad it's you."

And then he was gone. Escaping into the night, to meet with his lady again once the morning came.

Marinette had had a long night. After finding out that her best cat friend was her best guy friend, she was kinda feeling out of it. She hadn't gotten much sleep either now that she thought about it. Even though she had gone straight for her bed once she got home, sleep just didn't want to come. Mari had been up for hours, thinking about Cat and Adrien, Adrien and Cat. It was astonishing, really, that she hasn't figured it all out till now. The designer couldn't help but find it comical how a slice of cake had, in the end, been the cause of their reveal. Because out of all her imagined reveal scenarios, that one was the least feasible. Well, almost.

But the one thought that kept coming back, was how maturely they had handled their situation. Yeah, they were both terrified beyond belief, but only because they didn't know what would come next. They still stuck together and laughed it off. Mari guessed that was one of the things she liked about him.

At the moment, she was lying in her bed, pretending to be asleep and not knowing what to do next. She finally attempted to open her eyes and groaned. The light was blinding and she was still exhausted from such a restless night. She instead buried her face in her pillow, grabbing her phone on the way. It was only when Mari saw the current time appear on her phone screen that she careened out of bed, nearly tumbling down her stairs along the way.

"It's noon?! Tikki why didn't you wake me?"

"Whaaa?" As Marinette turned, she saw the groggy kwami rubbing her eyes as she floated up from the bed.

"Sorry Tikki, it wasn't you fault, but, wait...ahhhhhh!"

"Marinette what is it?!"

"I-i have 57 unanswered texts...from Adrien…" Tikki squealed with joy and let herself plop to the floor. Marinette just stood dumbfounded.

"Well Mari, at least that's a good problem to have, you should probably answer them though. Gaping at the phone won't help much, will it?" Marinette didn't say anything, but silently agreed as she searched through her messages. The first few were your basic 'hello' and 'good morning' texts, but they slowly changed to the 'hey can I come over yet?', and 'are you awake now?' texts. She eventually got down to the random, bored texts of 'did you know a small cat can swallow a wheel of cheese whole?', and 'how does one perform cpr on a cat?' She was slightly concerned, only slightly.

The last, and most recent text simply went, 'srry i just realized that i sent u over 50 texts, i'll stop now. just text me when u can. thx!'

It was endearing to say the least. Though the strange thing was, she couldn't recall giving him her phone number. Maybe he had gotten it from Alya? But in the end, she decided to let the thought go and send a quick reply which turned into a long summary of the answers to all of his questions.

However, not a minute later, she received yet another text from the model (as well as a dozen or so from Alya that seemed to appear out of nowhere). After a short conversation, and a period of ignoring Alya's crazy texts, her and Adrien had decided for him to come over in half an hour, so that the two would have time to get ready.

As she put her phone away and sat on her bed, Mari couldn't help but rest her mind on the model once again. It was still strange for Marinette to be thinking of Adrien and Cat as the same person. She kept trying to let it go, but the thought seemed to be stuck at the back of her head, coming out at the most inopportune moments. She just didn't know how to control it. Marinette laughed quietly to herself. She needed to stop lying to herself, because she knew exactly how to control it, but if she could, well, that was the real mystery.

The girl quickly shook her head to jumble up her thoughts before getting dressed and ready for the day. It only took her a few minutes before she was ready to head downstairs. She turned around one last time to make sure her room was ready for Adrien. And that's when she saw the photos. Adrien's face was covering her walls, just like they always had. But the real Adrien had just been in that room the day before. She never took them down. He had probably seen _all of them_. So, like the reasonable, non-hysterical girl she was, she walked over and tore down the pictures one by one; carefully piling them up under her mattress, where no one would find them. Then she attempted to walk downstairs. Except, she didn't open the hatch. Maybe she could just walk through...nope.

After a few minutes, or maybe it was more like 20, she made it down to the kitchen, where a cold breakfast was waiting on the table. She ate it in silence, looking out a window, and wondering what she would do once Adrien got there. Wait a sec..wasn't Adrien supposed to come around-

And then the doorbell rang. He was here. Cat was here, but Adrien was too. All Mari could do was panic. She took her dishes as she shoveled the last of her breakfast down her throat and twirled toward the sink like a ballerina, dumping the dishes in as Adrien looked on in mild amusement.

After their newly named 'breakfast ballet', the two teen made their way to the now Adrien free room upstairs. They had taken their usual seats by Mari's computer, but neither could start up a conversation. It was just so...weird. They both knew now, yet they both denied it as well. But after long enough, Marinette couldn't take it any longer.

"So...You're Cat…"

"Yup...and you're Ladybug…" And then came the silence. Neither of the two knew what to say. They sat in complete, utter silence, looking anywhere but at the other. It felt like their quiet lasted for hours, but according to any clock, it had been only seconds. Adrien nearly jumped out of his seat once the silence was finally broken by Mari's sweet, quiet laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I-it's just silly how we never knew. It was so obvious. I mean, how could we not know? It just makes so much sense now!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe we were just a little preoccu _pie_ d with baking some delicious pastries."

"W-was that a pun?"

"Yes of course! Pie! Cause you work in a bakery. Get it? Come on that was genius."

"Pppshshhh, yeah right. Your puns are _breadf_ ul. Mind, on the other hand, are simply _miraculous_."

"Oh don't even go there. You want a pun war, i'll give you a pun war."

"Oh it's on kitty!" The two heroes then proceeded to have a pun war that lasted much longer than it was meant to. Though neither of them complained, it had been nearly two whole hours when they finally ran out of puns. Marinette was extremely grateful for it though, because the puns didn't occupy the entirety of their time. They used their pun war to talk about themselves. Both hero and civilian selves. It was not only efficient, but a fun way to communicate their simultaneous worry.

Unfortunately for Mari, after their pun war subsided, Adrien had discovered that his friend was extremely ticklish. Marinette deeply expressed her hate for tickling, seeing as she couldn't resist laughing like a madman when tickled. So Adrien, being the gentleman he was, chased Mari around the room until he finally caught her by the arm and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.

"A-adri-haHA STop! Ahhahaha nooo! T-tikKI HELP! Hahaha!" The red kwami spun into the air, watching Marinette suffer while she simply laughed cutely from a distance.

"TikKI!"

Marinette then heard a soft knock from behind and turned to see her mother poking her head through the hatch with a sweet smile on her face. Thankfully, Tikki had already hidden herself and Adrien had stopped his relentless tickling. For now...

"Oh hey Mom. Did you need me for something?"

"Not this time dear. I was actually hoping to speak with Adrien if that's alright." Mari turned to her friend, a puzzled expression lurking on her face that was reflected back in his. She didn't know why her mother needed to talk to Adrien, and neither did he apparently. She was fairly certain it wasn't bad...Well, she hoped so.

Adrien just shrugged though, and leapt off the couch, following Mrs. Dupain Cheng downstairs. It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. It wasn't everyday that your best friend's parents wanted to speak to you alone. His mind couldn't help but wonder as to why they wanted to talk to him. He hadn't done something wrong had he? No, he was pretty sure...wait. Maybe they found out about that kiss from fencing? They weren't mad were they?! Adrien screamed internally, hoping against all odds that they wouldn't talk about that. The moment with Mari was great of course, but would her parents approve? Had she ever even kissed a guy before?

Now Adrien was freaking out. He was both ecstatic at the prospect of being _Marinette's first kiss_ , but also dreadful of possibly being _her only kiss._ What if her parents knew and were kicking him out right now? They might not let him come back! Adrien panicked and started looking around frantically for a way out, but he was stunned to already find himself in the all too familiar kitchen. Tom was washing dishes by the sink, with his back to the two. Sabine briskly walked over to her husband, her back also to Adrien, and the two adults had a short, whispered conversation before inviting the boy over.

Adrien did his best to smile, to seem the perfect boy and in no way one who would go kissing their daughter without permission. Was that even a thing? But now he was standing in front of Mari's parents. He had no more time to think, because all of a sudden, Sabine was speaking.

"Sorry about pulling you out of there sweetie, it looked like you and Mari were having a good time. We didn't mean to scare you, but we were hoping to surprise Mari."

"What are you planning a birthday party or something?" Adrien shut his mouth. Though his outburst was probably way off, he would rather speak something coherent than simply screaming in frustration.

"Oh not yet Adrien, there's something else we wanted to ask you though. Tom?" The baker smiled down at his wife while scratching his head before turning his gaze to Adrien.

"Uh yes, of course. Well I'd rather just get to the point so here goes. We-"

"I'm sorry I kissed Mari I didn't mean to I'm so sorry please don't kick me out!" The baker and his wife blinked in confusion. They clearly hadn't been expecting that and Adrien couldn't help but grow more and more terrified with every second. He was almost ready to transform into Cat Noir and Cataclysm his way out before he ruined anything else.

"Uhh, sweetie I'm sorry but we don't know what your talking about.." Adrien paled at Sabine's words. At the same time he noticed a snickering Tom making coughing noises to hide his proclamation of "I do!"

And then Adrien paled even more. Tom knew something. But what? And why was he laughing?

"Tom, stop laughing already you're making him uncomfortable."

"Sorry honey, and Adrien don't worry about it. It's fine, really, more than fine-"

"Tom."

"Okay, okay, back to the point. So what we wanted to do, was ask you if you wanted to work here. Basically, do you want a job making food or what?" Adrien was stunned. He felt like he was in another world. One where sound was silent and time stood still. His relief at the question was unbelievable. His shoulders sank, his breath slowed, and all his muscles relaxed the tension he didn't know he was holding. He didn't realize that he hadn't answered until he looked up to see the two parents looking at him expectantly.

"Oh, yes! Yeah I'd love to work for you guys, that'd be great!"

"Thought so kiddo, now go tell Mari the good news! We can figure out all the details later" Adrien nodded vigorously as Tom stepped over to give the boy a fatherly noogie. Adrien laughed a bit and gently pushed the arm away, and once he was free, he ran upstairs and threw the hatch open, nearly causing Mari to fall out of her seat.

"Mari guess what?!"

"If you're back to tickle me again then the answer is NO."

"Heh, no it's so much better! You're parents just offered me a job at the bakery!" Adrien made sure to throw his arms open for emphasis.

"What?! THAT'S AMAZING WE CAN WORK TOGETHER!" Marinette had hopped out of her seat and was now twirling as she spoke. At the same time Adrien felt his heart melting. He smiled goofily and pranced over to where Mari stood spinning. But he only made it two steps before he felt his foot hit something soft and black. He looked down to see Plagg grinning up at him with mischief written all over his face. And then he was falling. It would have been easy to catch himself if Plagg hadn't moved to block his other foot as well. But alas, he was going to fall flat on his face, in front of Ladybug.

What Adrien didn't see, was Marinette's face as she saw him trip over the reckless kwami. Her quick reflexes as Ladybug kicked in, and she rushed forward, catching the boy by grabbing his upper arms as she awkwardly smiled _down_ at him for once. He looked up and smiled, though that wasn't enough to mask the enormous blush covering his face. He sighed internally at the perfection that was both Ladybug and Marinette all at once. And yet again, being so close to her magical face made him speechless. He couldn't tell if he was smiling goofily or charmingly, but he didn't care, as long as he could stare at the beautiful perfection that was Marinette's face. Her deep blue hair, shining sapphire eyes, and her soft pink lips… Just perfect.

Marinette must have been thinking the same thing he had, because she was now closing her eyes, and slowly, gently pulling him closer. His weight was still being supported by the girl, so he did the only thing he could. He leaned his face forward to close the gap, and before he knew it, he felt the soft, pink lips of Ladybug brush against his own for the second time. Now that he thought about it, his first kiss with Marinette had been just that. But now, he was with not only Marinette, but Ladybug, the love of his life! It just felt so right. So magical. Like Marinette and Ladybug had always been one in the same, just as he had been both Adrien and Cat Noir. The designer wasn't complete without the heroine, and the heroine not complete without the designer. And Adrien wasn't complete without the both of them. That's just what they did. They completed each other.

As they ended their impromptu kiss, and he opened his eyes, Adrien fell in love with _her_ all over again. And though he didn't know it, she was falling in love with him as well. He could then feel joyful tears stinging the back of his eyes, so he lifted his feet and stood, now taller than Marinette, before encasing her in a nearly crushing hug.

This was how it had all started… Adrien remembered the day he had chased Mari out of the classroom, the day he sat there and hugged her, comforted her, and just listened. That decision had brought about all of this. It was the best decision he had ever made. Because now, he was complete. He was okay. Together, they would always be okay.

 **[And there you have it! Thank you all again for reading and I'm glad so many of you liked it! I plan to write more in the future but for now I'm going to take a break and work on other things. And with that, thanks for reading Chocolate Cake!]**


End file.
